


won’t you stay till the a.m?

by alvisable



Series: Secret Boyfriends [2]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Prequel, other characters mentioned briefly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25955884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alvisable/pseuds/alvisable
Summary: Kihyun has no idea why Hyungwon likes to avoid him, until he learns something.prequel tosomething about you, so addictive
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Yoo Kihyun
Series: Secret Boyfriends [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882477
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to finish this and make it into a whole chapter, but the temptation to post is too strong, so I decided to separate it into two. Hopefully y'all can enjoy it! >w<
> 
> Title from One Direction's _Made in the A.M._

Hyungwon often says that he’s tired of meeting Kihyun—to whoever and whenever possible, their classmates more often than not. Their houses being near to each other doesn’t help either, which upsets Kihyun even more. After all, what’s so bad about bumping into him, saying a simple “hi”, and then moving on like nothing happened? It wouldn’t fucking hurt, but of course Chae _freaking_ Hyungwon should make a big fuss out of it.

And this morning is no exception.

Kihyun weighs the option to cross the road and rings Hyungwon’s doorbell, waking him up, urging him to hurry because they’re in the same group and their presentation would be the first _right this morning_ ; or simply bail instead. He bites his lower lip, low anxiety creeping up his spine. Probably calling Minhyuk or Jooheon would be a much better option, since Hyungwon is close with them and more likely wouldn’t ignore them. Plus, both of them could avoid getting irritated with each other only to bicker again, which only ends up with them wasting more time.

Yet, the universe might not take on his side as Kihyun finds Hyungwon’s dad bringing two large waste bags and throwing them in the bin at the side of his house quite neatly. He eventually notices Kihyun and immediately waves his hand.

“Oh, Kihyun-ah! Wanna go to school with Hyungwon?” The man offers a big smile that Kihyun can’t possibly ignore. As the student approaches him, he continues talking in such cheerful manner. “Hyungwon hasn’t waken up yet and it’s been hard to get him up lately. His mother has gone to her office to prepare an early meeting. If it doesn’t bother you, probably you can help check him?”

Kihyun forces a smile and nods, following the man inside. He’s left to wander around the house himself, being too familiar with the place. They used to hang out a lot as a kid, until they didn’t anymore.

Once Kihyun finds the younger’s room, he opens the door, Hyungwon’s back facing him as he snuggles more under the cover. “Hyungwon-ah,” he calls, his whining tone already evident. He strolls towards the bed and shakes the lanky boy’s shoulder. “Hey, Hyungwon, wake up! We’re gonna be late!”

Hyungwon murmurs and shrugs Kihyun off slowly. “You’re not gonna,” he grumbles, still under the sleep, and Kihyun sighs at his seemingly failed attempt.

“I know I won’t be late if I just leave you here, which I’m more than glad to do. But we’ve got a presentation coming, and I don’t want my grades falling just because one of my group members is late,” Kihyun insists, now yanking the cover away and snapping the curtain open. Making the sun glare directly at them—at least it’s enough to get Hyungwon squint his eyes.

“Kihyun-aaah.” Hyungwon’s muffled wailing becomes more irritating, he even manages to bury his face on his pillow.

“This is not the right time to go back to sleep!” Kihyun grits his teeth as he lets his backpack slide on the floor, he just instinctively sits on top of the taller boy’s body in an attempt to get him up. It’s an embarrasing position, and Kihyun is fully aware of that. He just thinks this is the fastest way to get Hyungwon’s attention, or else they wouldn’t even make it to school in time.

Kihyun carefully leans down and whispers in Hyungwon’s ear, “I’ll kiss you all over your skin, leaving visible marks, and then I’ll tell people you _beg me_ for it.” Kihyun sincerely didn’t expect it would cause any reaction from Hyungwon, but the younger immediately snaps his head around with a pair of widened eyes.

“No kidding.” He pouts, his sleepy expression has magically gone. Kihyun pulls away a bit, completely amused, but not for long, not until Hyungwon retaliates with, “No one would believe you. I’ve somehow convinced them that I wasn’t interested in you. They might even think that _you_ are the one who beg me for it.”

Kihyun is taken aback at first, but his smirk is slowly growing again. Their close distance doesn’t intimidate him, Kihyun even moves impossibly closer as he speaks, “Glad you just _were_ not interested in me, Hyungwon-ah. I can count on it.” He winks, slowly disentangling himself from the younger’s body as he ushers him to the bathroom, not leaving a chance for him to retort more.

* * *

Hyungwon sighs as he rests his head on the cafeteria’s table once they’ve finished their food. Minhyuk slurps his strawberry milk beside him, while Changkyun and Jooheon are busy playing this one game in their respective phones across the table.

“Today sucks,” Hyungwon starts when no one asks him.

Jooheon, not even batting his eyes from his screen, replies, “Why? What happened?”

“Yoo Kihyun happened,” Changkyun adds nonchalantly, his finger taps vigorously on his screen at such speed to kill his and Jooheon’s pixelated enemies.

“Tell me about it,” Hyungwon snorts. He doesn’t particularly like it when his friends know exactly what bothers him this much.

“If you’re gonna describe how much you don’t want to meet him, I’ll blacklist you from the list of my best friends,” Minhyuk chirps once his milk is empty. Hyungwon sends him a death glare, but Minhyuk just shrugs it off. “I mean, who would be that obsessed to talk about someone in a bad way, every single day, every single time, for no freaking reason—unless someone is being bi panic?”

Hyungwon snickers. “I’m not being bi panic.”

“I’m not saying who,” Minhyuk says quickly.

Hyungwon groans. “I was only talking to myself, then.”

“Hyung, you’re a bisaster,” Changkyun adds as he finishes the game with Jooheon smoothly. He puts his phone down, then stares at Hyungwon whose pout now is even more sulky. “You see? Bi-disaster? Bisaster?”

“I know what you mean.” Hyungwon huffs, not rejecting any of their accusations. His first crush was Son Hyunwoo, his senior at middle school (who happens to be his senior again now), before he knew that Hyunwoo dated Lee Hoseok at that time. No idea if they’re still together. Then he met Lee Siyeon, a leader of the marching band team from one of the rival schools. She’s really talented, and Hyungwon was quickly drawn to her. It was so natural for both of them to get close, until she had to move to another town and continue her school there. But one thing for sure is, Hyungwon likes girls too.

“I can’t believe you guys decide to gang up on me when I just said today sucks only a few minutes ago,” Hyungwon says, straigthening his back.

“If this is about today’s presentation, we did it well,” Minhyuk starts, frowning a little. “I don’t think Kihyun roasted you, nor even pointed on your mistakes. Everything went well.”

Hyungwon sighs. His mind racing, his cheeks suddenly flushed. He gulps nervously as he admits, his voice coming out in a low whisper, “I think I had confessed to him—”

“You what?!” Jooheon almost shouts, in which Hyungwon immediately clasps his hand on the younger’s mouth.

“Be more obvious than this and I won’t help you cheat on the next literature exam,” Hyungwon growls, though his hand trembles which contradicts his ~~lame~~ threat, and everyone who’s near their table might notice it. Once Jooheon nods, he slowly takes his hand away. He clears his throat, then darts his eyes to his friends, silently asking for their suggestions.

Minhyuk is the first to speak. “Kihyun might not think that way, though, right?” He snorts, shaking his head as if this news equals some dinosaurs breaking through the fence in Jurassic Park—which is highly impossible to begin with. “What happened, really?”

“He woke me up this morning, and... and he said things, and it just slipped through my mouth that I _wasn’t_ interested in him.” Hyungwon takes a deep breath, wishing he still had some water left to drink and calm himself. “ _Wasn’t_ , as in past tense.”

“So basically, he just twisted your words and you assumed things?” Changkyun frowns, staring at Hyungwon since he only makes a fuss out of nothing.

“He’s just messing with you,” Jooheon chimes, his voice calm, trying not to make Hyungwon even more panic.

“Then he has succeeded cause I’m in a literal mess now,” Hyungwon groans, his hand ruffles his hair to express his peak frustration.

“What could you possibly do, Wonnie? He might have forgotten it and think your words were nonexistent,” Minhyuk says, now chuckling because it’s simply difficult not to.

“I don’t know,” the tall boy answers, exhaling a long breath as the bell to the next class rings. They all scurry across the cafeteria, going to their respective classes. Only Minhyuk is in the same class with Hyungwon, and even during their long walk in the corridor, Minhyuk chooses to talk about something else instead—a good distraction for Hyungwon, even if it only lasts for a while.

* * *

After the waking-Hyungwon-up “incident”, the younger spends the next several days avoiding Kihyun. _Completely._ Hyungwon doesn’t say more than necessary in class. He avoids Kihyun when the older just wanted to say hi. If they’re paired in the same group, Hyungwon has no doubt to raise his hand and asks the teacher to have him in another group.

This makes Kihyun even more confused than before, rather than it upsets him. Like he had said something wrong or that he’s just a mere bother to Hyungwon.

Kihyun huffs. He shouldn’t worry about this. He shouldn’t think about this at all.

“Kihyun-ah!” A voice calls from the gym’s direction. Kihyun looks up and finds Minhyuk wave and approach him, slinging his arm casually like they’re used to doing that. “Are you gonna go to the cafeteria? I’ll come with you.”

Kihyun is about to reject, but thinks that Minhyuk wouldn’t accept a no as an answer. “What did you do in the gym?”

“Is that what you _really_ wanna know?” Minhyuk raises his eyebrows playfully, his lips smile in the most mischievous way Kihyun has ever seen.

The younger rolls his eyes. “What else am I supposed to know? You’d probably have some basketball tournament within a few months, and it doesn’t hurt to make a conversation.”

“Wow, I know. Chill.” Minhyuk doesn’t bother to explain more as he leads Kihyun inside the cafeteria. They queue behind some other students before they get their trays and choose what they wanna eat. “I was actually gonna search for you after the meeting.”

“Why?”

“To give you this,” Minhyuk says after he places his tray in one of the empty tables, handing Kihyun two brand-new tickets. “There’s a new shark movie. You might be interested to watch it.”

Kihyun frowns. Minhyuk is asking him out? What kind of turn of event is this?

“Since when do you like shark movie? I thought you said it’s just a cheap franchise, and most of the scenes are poorly executed.”

Minhyuk sighs. “You’re so stubborn like him,” he whines, then shoves the tickets on Kihyun’s palm. “It’s not for me, you don’t have to worry watching the entire movie with someone you _don’t_ like.” Minhyuk winks. “There might be someone you wanna meet so badly, though?”

“There’s no one like that,” Kihyun says, although a particular, _~~tall and handsome~~_ person suddenly pops in his head, out of nowhere.

“Sure, if you say so.” Minhyuk shrugs, dipping to his _bulgogi_ and acting like he believes in what Kihyun says.

Kihyun bites his lower lip at that, starting to eat his own meal. His mind races, over analyzing what all of this means, what it might entail. He might be dense and kind of oblivious, but he hates that he understands exactly what Minhyuk’s intention is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyungki contents are popping up everywhere and each time, they keep thriviiing, yeeeet. (´⌣`ʃƪ)
> 
> They fuel me enough to write more fics and even make this as a series, I'm glad to have found such a cute and adorable ship. (♡´艸`)
> 
> Also, at this point, anyone might've realized how I keep pairing Hyungwon with Lee Siyeon from Dreamcatcher. I guess it's from [JEM's mashup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaiKw8d8QVc) of DC and MX, and she's just so amazing, please stream their latest comeback, BOCA. 😆💕
> 
> Until then, let's keep loving Hyungki!! 🐹🐢💘💘💘


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes a bit longer than expected, but hopefully you can enjoy it! 😙💞✨
> 
> There would be some POV Alternating near the ending, I just thought I need to mention that. :3

The night falls rather quickly and Kihyun gulps as he stares at the house across his own with a frown—a nervous glance as well, to be exact. He looks down at the tickets in his hand, a little wrinkled at the edge. He could just bail on the ridiculous idea, Minhyuk wouldn’t know, and Hyungwon surely got nothing to lose. With that gorgeous look and perfect charisma, he literally could get anyone he wants.

The thought of Hyungwon being with anyone suddenly makes Kihyun shiver. He doesn’t like it, hates it to the core of his bone. He’s not particularly sure why, but he can feel his blood boil. These things between him and Hyungwon has grown towards rather uncertain direction, and Kihyun despises uncertainty most compared to other bad things in the world.

He sighs, finally deciding to walk towards the front door, reaching the handle with grim determination. It clicks open and he closes it again, taking a deep breath while he crosses the road and goes towards the Chae’s residence.

Kihyun knows this is such a stupid idea. If he reads Minhyuk’s intention wrong, and Hyungwon ends up rejecting him, he’ll carry the shame for the rest of his life. He shuts his eyes and sucks in another deep breath, trying to calm himself as he knocks his neighbor's door. A few footsteps echo from the other side, followed by a loud click, presenting a tall figure Kihyun has been expecting.

 _Shit,_ he muses, he can’t believe Hyungwon himself would appear this fast.

“I never knew you’ll be this immediate at accepting a guest. It’s just as if you’re waiting for me, on purpose,” Kihyun blurts out of the blue, then he realizes what he’s done. He presses his lips as his eyes widen, the words tumble out without him having a chance to filter them first. He internally curses at himself for being too nervous that his mouth ends up betraying his genuine, well-kept thoughts. Not to mention how _irritating_ his sentences were.

He quickly collects his composure as he tries to rectify, “No, Hyungwon, I-I mean—”

“Cut the nonsense already.” Hyungwon sighs, looking at Kihyun briefly before gesturing for him to come in. They sit in silence then, exactly next to each other. Hyungwon fidgets the whole time, before looking up at Kihyun again and continues, “Those are the tickets Minhyuk stole from me.”

Kihyun snaps his head, then at the tickets, then at Hyungwon with obvious disbelief. His mind races wildly, trying to deny what his brain currently comprehends right after the younger admitted the truth. Kihyun’s aware he should give it back, right at _this instant_ , yet his hand freezes. Like something tells him not to. His heart hammering to the point of breaking his ribcage when Hyungwon speaks again, “I thought you might like it.”

If Kihyun hasn’t been shocked for the nth time today, he might laugh at Hyungwon and say he’s just messing with him, but no. Hyungwon avoids Kihyun’s gaze as his cheeks blaze with a tinge of red, looking kinda cute if Kihyun were to be honest (which he certainly _is_ _n’t_ —he clearly doesn’t imagine how soft and puffy those cheeks are whenever Hyungwon expresses certain emotion. Kihyun is definitely _not_ affected).

Still, Kihyun blinks to clear his mind, keeping all reactions as composed as possible in front of Hyungwon. This probably has something to do with his previous nervousness, which leads to his heart pounding even more wildly than before. It’s perfectly normal. It’s not his fault that his mind is on haywire mode, and all he can think of right now is how mesmerizing Hyungwon is, and why he never realized this before—or maybe he did but he was too busy retaliating whenever they were arguing. Now, his brain can’t stop chanting _Hyungwon, Hyungwon, Hyungwon_ as if there’s no tomorrow. And Kihyun has no idea whether to hate it or brush it aside, as if nothing happened.

“Oh, well then, um...” Kihyun tries to find a coherent sentence to say, yet the only word he can think of—the safest one out of all the vocabularies he has, is, “Thanks.” His hand trembles when he extends it to give one ticket to Hyungwon. He takes a deep breath to calm the butterflies crawling all over his senses before he suggests, “It’s for tomorrow. We can watch it together. I... I don’t want to waste your money, and if you haven’t, you should watch the trailer. It’s adapted from a novel, it’s detailed and full of action and—”

“Okay, Kihyunie,” Hyungwon cuts him, beaming widely as he takes the ticket from the older’s hand. “I’m convinced already that the movie is great. Anything you choose, as long as I watch it with you, would be more than enjoyable!” Hyungwon chirps cheerfully. “Pick me up at nine, and if you’re not sure I’ll be on time, you can wake me up again.” Then he winks, his shy demeanor suddenly gone.

Kihyun blushes hard at that, he has no idea what’s with the sudden change. He thought they’re on some kind of truce, with Hyungwon slowly avoiding him for the rest of eternity because they were never friends, never acquaintances either, not even close to anything other than two human beings destined to meet each other several times a week at some point in their lives.

Well, he’s not saying that there might be more progress from their appointment. Probably Hyungwon just needs some time to “recover” after their last pointless argument. That’s simply what they’ve been doing for God knows how long, after all. Arguing like there’s no tomorrow. Besides, Hyungwon would never overthink about what Kihyun said when he woke him up. He simply wouldn’t.

No matter how much Kihyun’s brain wants Hyungwon to react the other way around, he’s convinced that what he said wasn’t even offensive!

And now he’s ready to start anew again—either going back like usual, quarreling and bickering and all, or to truly become friends. Where they talk and share the same interests and hang out like they used to do when they were still children. What exactly happened before their friendship changed, Kihyun isn’t sure either.

All Kihyun can sense is just the scorching heat crawling all over his veins before he says, with the same level of tease, “Sure, Wonnie. Please look forward to it, you can count on me.” He stands before leaving the house with a satisfied grin, pressing his growing anxiety about what he just said, what he just witnessed happen. His breathing still comes out shaky when he arrives at his house. He walks straight to his room as his chest thundering like a storm going out of control.

He didn’t glance at Hyungwon at his way back, and regrets later that he didn’t. He should have done that, because he’s sure Hyungwon has the same exact reaction as his. And if the younger didn’t, then Kihyun has a bad feeling that this is all for nothing.

And Kihyun—gritting his teeth—hates that possibility with all his might.

* * *

Kihyun didn’t know what to expect from their “date” since Hyungwon turns out to wake up on time and so he suggests to go quite “early” in the morning. It’s already 9 a.m. but the younger says Kihyun is too strict with the schedule. For the sake of avoiding another pointless argument, Kihyun replies with a scoff and an eye roll.

They arrive at the movie theater exactly thirty minutes before the movie begins, and already they argue whether they’ll get a medium or large-sized popcorn inside, and if they should buy one or two glasses of soda.

Kihyun honestly doesn’t want to waste the food if somehow both of them can’t finish it, and drinking cold soda inside a room with cool AC sounds like a bad idea. He refuses to leave his seat until the movie is finished, so they decide to have a large-sized popcorn and one soda for Hyungwon.

Luckily, Hyungwon is well-mannered throughout the movie. He’s not his usual needy self who gives comments here and there, and that honestly calms Kihyun a bit. He lets out a satisfied sigh when the credit rolls, and Hyungwon is the first to speak as he looks at the empty popcorn bucket.

“Where do you wanna go next?”

Kihyun sucks in a breath and swears he’s not hopelessly distracted by the way Hyungwon licks his fingers which are covered with salt. Still, he manages to concentrate after what feels like eons (though it’s only been a few seconds), and replies calmly, “Wanna try some street food? It’s been a while since we try one.”

“Sure.” Hyungwon nods excitedly, bringing the bucket and the empty soda with both hands, leaving Kihyun wondering if he did it on purpose. So that they can’t hold hands, or even think about it, even just for a bit.

Kihyun shakes his head. Hyungwon probably just asks him to hang out as a friend, and he shouldn’t hope for more. Not when there’s still too much uncertainty.

* * *

They end up visiting a street food market nearby where they eat _tteokbokki_ and _mayak gimbap_ amidst the noisy crowds, enjoying their meals almost in complete silence. They just occasionally talk (what with the constant loud voice around), and drink some banana milk afterwards, then buy more food to bring home.

Hyungwon looks so eager when the stores they’re searching for haven’t run out of _hweori gamja_ , hot dog, and some grilled cheese lobster. Kihyun is about to chip in when Hyungwon refuses him, saying that this is his treat, and Kihyun can’t do anything than to give in.

On the way home, Kihyun still tries to wrap his mind about what they’ve done today. It’s almost 6 p.m. when they walk together, most of their conversation revolves around the movie they just watched. Sometimes Kihyun wants to remind Hyungwon how much he misses this—when they were still in elementary, they used to go out a lot with each other’s parents, both on weekends and holidays. There was so little time when they didn’t meet each other, and meeting Hyungwon has been such an exciting routine.

Everything changed when they went to middle school, he supposes. Hyungwon starts to have his own circle of friends, though it’s not long until their orbit collides again, only in a slightly different way.

Has he been too rough to the younger, somehow? Or they’ve just grown too distant with each other, that familiarizing themselves somehow becomes like a chore?

“Kihyun-ah.” Hyungwon nudges him out of his mind as they stop near the younger’s house. When Kihyun looks up at him, Hyungwon purses his lips, his eyes concerned. He follows the direction of Hyungwon’s gaze, and finds his house in a pit darkness.

“I think my parents aren’t home.” Hyungwon places the plastic bags in one hand and fishes his phone out of his pocket, groaning when two messages from his mom appears on the screen. He reads it a bit and turns to Kihyun with a horror in his look. “They’ve got some works to do, it’s decided last minute this afternoon, and they ask me to keep watch of my house.”

Kihyun frowns, not following what the younger means. “Then tell them you’ve arrived home.”

“I don’t bring the key.”

Kihyun rolls his eyes. “Your family always left one around the yard. It’s probably still in the same place.” Hyungwon doesn’t budge at that, and only then, Kihyun realizes what the taller boy wants. “I’ll accompany you, okay? I’ll ask for permission from my parents, change my clothes and all. You can go with me first, and then we’ll stay at your place later. Tomorrow is Sunday, after all, we’ll get plenty of time.”

Hyungwon frowns, but nods at the suggestion. Kihyun doesn’t speak anymore as he leads both of them inside of his house.

* * *

Kihyun might be deluding himself but upon entering Hyungwon’s house, the younger seems a bit uneasy—and kinda avoiding him too.

 _What the hell,_ he snickers internally, thinking of their day that has been spent together going to waste. He genuinely thought he was making progress, at least back to their childhood-friend mode.

“Hyungwon, are you okay?” Kihyun can’t help but ask after he clicked the lamp switch on and got the whole room bright. Hyungwon only nods as he stores some of his bought food in the fridge.

“I’ll have the lobster for breakfast, but think you can get another food down your stomach tonight?” Hyungwon offers his hot dogs, crispy and swoonworthy, especially being held with such care the way Hyungwon always does with food. He smiles as he saunters across the room and sits on the couch in front of the TV, then turning it on without asking.

Kihyun, however, stands like an idiot before he settles himself beside Hyungwon. He takes a safe distance, not wanting to seem intrusive. “I’m not sure if it’s okay to ask this, but do you enjoy your time with me today?”

Hyungwon turns his head, his eyes determined. “Sure, Kihyunie, why wouldn’t I?” he replies after a bit of a pause, which only draws Kihyun’s doubt even more.

“You’re sure, _sure_?” Kihyun demands, staring back at Hyungwon sternly. He flinches when the younger looks away, focusing on the excessively-done advertisement instead.

The silence looms over them for a few moments, only the sound of Hyungwon chewing his hot dog, dipped in the savory cheese, fills the air. A bit of sauce smears the corner of his lips, and Kihyun silently clears his throat, urging his hand to stay beside himself instead of smudging it off of Hyungwon’s soft skin, wiping the sauce only to lick it from his own finger.

Now, the thought of him doing just that has made his heart pounding hard enough, that Kihyun is sure his cheeks turn beet red. He’s not supposed to have such indecent idea. Hyungwon is his _friend_ , someone he needs to reconcile unless he wants to spend the rest of his high school with endless questions of why the gorgeous boy in front of him hates him so much that he keeps avoiding Kihyun—

“You’re staring for a while, it starts getting creepy,” Hyungwon says as he chuckles, his mouth full before he swallows his food in an unsightly manner. But even then, he looks too adorable to resist, Kihyun is sure he would die in an instant if this keeps going on.

Although, snapping out of his mind, Kihyun quickly collects himself and begins to speak, “Look, I know we’re not on good terms lately...” _More like, **most**_ _of the time,_ Kihyun adds, though he doesn’t say it. “...and I’m so glad we hang out today. And I know I’m probably not supposed to ask this, but are we... are we friends now, Wonnie?”

Hyungwon stops munching at the familiar nickname, swallowing hard as his mind’s busy convincing himself that what he just heard was real. It’s been so long since Kihyun calls him that, and he slowly fixes his gaze on Kihyun. There’s a sense of longing there, a bit of wounded, hidden pain Hyungwon was never aware of. “Kihyun, I—”

“Wonnie, I want to be friend with you again, a proper one.”

Hyungwon blinks, not expecting the older to propose such a prospect. Out of all the possibilities... his antics and everything he’d done, Kihyun chose to say the deadly word. _Friend_. Of course. What did Hyungwon expect from a respectable person like Kihyun? He even let Minhyuk steal his tickets to give it to Kihyun, because he was too cowardly to do it himself. How impressive!

“Just... just friends?” Hyungwon stammers, his words tumbling out as his confused tone doesn’t betray his bewilderment. Has he been friendzoned? Or is this Kihyun’s way to take a revenge on him, after Hyungwon told everyone how much he despised the idea of meeting him again and again?

“I mean...” Kihyun is taken aback by Hyungwon’s reaction and how hurt he looks, though it’s quite subtle that people might think Hyungwon is okay. That question alone perplexes Kihyun even more. With Hyungwon avoiding him not just most of the time today, but also for the past four to five years, he couldn’t expect his... whatever it is he feels to be reciprocated. Thus, asking to be a friend is already a huge step that Kihyun thought would never occur.

Kihyun eventually reaches for Hyungwon’s hand and interlaces their fingers, receiving a desperate look that Kihyun wants to wipe away from Hyungwon’s face effective immediately. “Hyungwon-ah, what do you want us to be?”

Hyungwon gasps, not knowing what to reply, or what Kihyun wants to hear for that matter. “I... I don’t know...”

“Please.” Kihyun squeezes his hand, biting his lower lip as he leans in closer, inhaling sharply as Hyungwon doesn’t back away from his advance. “Just say it. Please.”

Hyungwon closes his eyes as Kihyun’s presence has gone a little bit overwhelming for him. Their faces only inches apart, Kihyun’s warm breath ghosting over his skin. His heart thumping so loudly he’s sure Kihyun can hear it, clearly not ready for this.

Hyungwon has always been aware of his little crush on Kihyun ever since they’re in the same class in high school. Yet, seeing him as a “new” person with a new circle kinda intimidates Hyungwon a little. He looks distant, though at the same time, warm. His eyes cheerful whenever he talks to people close to him, before turning thoughtful when he’s concentrating in class, or indignant when other students didn’t listen to him. As the captain of the class, it’s easy to get all the attention revolving towards him, and only then Hyungwon realized how much he misses Kihyun.

The next thing he knew, he bickered and argued a lot with the older, which he thinks has irritated Kihyun. He legit believed that there’s certainly no going back to impress him or be friend with him like any normal person does. Giving those tickets was actually his attempt to apologize, and he has never expected it would escalate this far.

“I... I don’t know, Ki,” Hyungwon finally replies as the older keeps staring at him with the stern look—now turns hurtful. It clenches Hyungwon’s heart, but he keeps going on. “I guess I like you, a _lot_ , but at the same time I might have hurt you as well. You don’t deserve it, and... I want to apologize.” There. Hyungwon has said it. If Kihyun gets mad after this, Hyungwon would completely understand.

Kihyun sighs in frustration. _I guess I like you too, you idiot!_ He wants to scream in front of the younger’s face, see his reaction, or even gain more affection afterwards. He just... he can’t. His tongue suddenly tied, and from the look of it, Kihyun isn’t sure if Hyungwon is keen with the idea of them being together. Of them being _boyfriends_.

That stings, yet Kihyun smiles anyway, then using his other hand to rub Hyungwon’s cheek to communicate that he knows. “There’s so much going on and I can’t seem to wrap up my mind around this,” he starts, “but we’ve got plenty of time to catch up, right, Wonnnie?”

Hyungwon looks up, then nods, smiling back to Kihyun who now straightens himself.

“I guess I want to know more about you first, see how things are gonna work out between us,” Kihyun continues, which gets another nod from Hyungwon. Though not longer after that, the younger’s head rests on his shoulder like he used to do when he fell asleep years ago in the bus when their elementary school held a school trip.

Kihyun’s body suddenly heats up, but he stays still to let Hyungwon get comfortable.

“This much is okay, right?”

“Are you gonna sleep already? I haven’t even touched my hot dog,” he huffs, “and I remember you stayed up till midnight watching those cartoon VCDs with me when we were in a holiday. I thought you could stay up a little bit longer.”

“I’m tired, Ki.” Hyungwon pouts as he wraps his arm around the older’s torso, feeling the warmth and the familiarity Kihyun always gives whenever Hyungwon needs it. “And I’ll stay awake to accompany you, I just can’t sit up straight.”

Kihyun rolls his eyes. “Liar.”

“Mmm... m’not.”

They stay like that for a while as the drama reveals intense shooting scenes with the characters shouting and hiding. Kihyun’s hand unconsciously goes to Hyungwon’s hair, tucking it a little as his other hand reaches for his cold hot dog. He munches it silently when Hyungwon speaks.

“I miss you, Ki.”

“Don’t get too carried away, Wonnie, we haven’t agreed on anything. We might as well still be the sworn enemy everyone knows,” he teases, poking the younger’s cheek with the hand previosuly tucking Hyungwon’s hair. “I think you still want to convince them you’re not into me—aww!” He receives a little smack on his hip just as he’s about to ask the questions.

“You do remember?” Hyungwon frowns. “I thought you weren’t serious!”

Kihyun chuckles, finishing his food before he replies, “Since when did I have a bad memory?”

“They’ll still believe me, though. You _did_ beg, anyway.”

“You lured me to it.”

“You consciously fell to the trap!”

“No one in their sane mind would like to be tricked, Wonnie.” Kihyun groans, nudging Hyungwon a little to get up from his position. He stares then, asking, “Are we really doing this?”

“Do what?” Hyungwon challenges, though he answers it himself almost right away. “I like you, Kihyun-ah. I won’t trick you ever again if that’s what it takes, and I promise I’ll make things work out.”

Kihyun sighs. “Fine...” Although _“fine”_ is not the way he sees their progress so far. His flashing thought is interrupted by another hug from Hyungwon, and honestly, he can’t really stay mad with the entirety of their last conversation if Hyungwon keeps showering him with affection like this. 

“I really, really miss you.”

“I know,” Kihyun says, circling his arms on Hyungwon’s back slowly, reliving their moments as much as he can—before he overthinks or even regrets this later on. He hates his over-functioning brain, sometimes. “Thanks for being honest with me, Hyungwon-ah.”

Hyungwon nods, nuzzling his head on Kihyun’s embrace. His grin wide and he can’t help but let a happy sigh escaping his mouth. “My pleasure, Ki.”

For a moment, they’re quiet like that. No more heated arguments. No more silly banters nor unnecessary comments directed towards each other. Just a peaceful night in a cozy living room, completed with arms entangling each other, drowning in the pleasant and blissful hug Kihyun never thought he needed.

And it might not be as bad as Kihyun thought before, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of you who have read and left kudos!! I really appreciate it!! (Some comments would be much appreciated too, hehe.) (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑) 🐹🐢💕✨


End file.
